Sir Jim Ratcliffe urges Manchester United suporters to be patient with rebuild - ‘It’s not a light switch’

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has told Manchester United fans his rebuild is “not a light switch” and that they will “have to be a bit patient”.

The British billionaire’s Ineos company has control of football operations after completing a deal in February to own a 27.7% stake in the club.

United’s issues were laid bare at Wembley on Sunday, when Erik ten Hag’s side needed penalties to beat Coventry in the semi-finals of the FA Cup. United had been 3-0 up and relied on VAR to deny the Championship club a late extra-time winner.

The manner of their progression to the final, where they will face rivals Manchester City, has again raised doubts about Ten Hag’s long-term future.

Ratcliffe has already begun to make changes behind the scenes, with Jason Wilcox joining from Southampton as technical director, but gardening leave has got in the way of two men starting their jobs.

It has delayed the arrival of new CEO Omar Berrada from City, while Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth is also a target to become United’s new sporting director - though an agreement has neither been agreed or confirmed.

Speaking to BBC Sport after completing the London Marathon, Sir Jim used a running analogy to describe his turnaround of United as being at the 10km mark of a 42km race.

“One of the problems with football is you get these new guys to come into the team, capable people, but they’re all on gardening leave,” he said.

“So it takes you six months, a year, 18 months before they can join. It’s a real issue in football.

“The fans are impatient. I knew that, yeah. But it’s a journey. Whether they like it or not, they have to be a bit patient. It’s not a light switch.

“You can’t just turn it around like that. It takes a bit of time. But we will.”

Ratcliffe, who is 71, ran the London Marathon in 4:30:52 before making his way to Wembley to watch the rest of United’s FA Cup semi-final.

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